Khol (Rescued by the Alien)

8. Khol

Chapter 8

Khol

W hile Flora skipped to her room to play, I sunk onto the sofa beside Nancy and laid her plate on her lap.

“Eat,” I said firmly. “Then we’ll talk.”

I’d explain and assure her I wouldn’t expect her to truly mate with me, and she’d . . . Probably leave me, as she should. I could take her to shore and help her find a new clan to settle with. Her mark would fade like the one from my first mate had, and she’d find someone new.

I’d continue with my lonely isolation on this island.

She mechanically lifted her eating implement and started placing food in her mouth, chewing slowly and swallowing before adding another bite. Once she’d finished, I took her plate to the counter and brought her the drink I’d requested from the house spirit, placing it in her hand .

“You must be thirsty.” I watched while she drank. Once she’d placed the empty cup on the table in front of the sofa, I sighed. “As I said, I came here to start a new life. Actually, I discovered this island while fishing and decided to stay.”

“Why did you need to start a new life?”

“I . . .” Did I dare explain? “I had a female I adored, but she died.”

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry.” She turned my way, her face full of concern. “What happened?”

“She was murdered for loving me.”

Nancy’s breath caught. “I don’t understand.”

And I didn’t want to tell her the entire story. She’d think as poorly of me as I did myself. She’d reject me as she should.

Which meant I had to tell her.

“I grew up in the Dastalon Clan, the sky clan with stone gods,” I said. “Though I secretly called them spirits as well.”

“I don’t . . . None of that makes sense. Sky clan?”

“The clan lives on floating islands, and they take to the sky riding huge birds. Stone spirits protect and serve the clan.”

“Like your water spirit.”

“Yes.” My smile flashed, and her gaze focused on my mouth, which sent a strange thrill through me. I was attracted to Nancy. She’d already brought hope to my world even if I didn’t deserve it. “Growing up, I was good friends with a male named Nevarn. We did everything together. Weela was one of the young females in the clan. As adults, her parents and his grandfather arranged for them to mate.”

“Which must be like marriage back on Earth. ”

“Yes.” I’d heard one of the women use that term. “Nevarn and Weela didn’t love each other, but they did as they were told.”

“That’s too bad. There are arranged marriages on Earth, and while some of the couples find happiness with each other, others don’t.”

“So it was with Nevarn and Weela. She and I were friends but . . .”

“Ah,” she said, her face clearing. “You two fell in love?”

I turned my arm to reveal the new symbol. “One day, while we walked together, a matching mating mark appeared on both of our arms. This meant we were true mates and fated to love each other.”

“But she was with Nevarn.” Nancy rubbed my arm in sympathy, and I should not allow the heat I felt from her simple touch to flare through me.

“We fought it, of course, but eventually, we gave in. Such is the way of true mating. We . . . weren’t intimate, but we might as well have been because we betrayed Nevarn in our hearts.”

“You said she was murdered?” A mask fell over her features, and she would no longer meet my eye.

“Nevarn was accused of killing her. I thought he found out about us and did it, but recently, it was proven that her parents killed her.”

Nancy’s gasp rang out. “How could parents murder their child?”

“Out of spite and anger. They discovered she and I were in love, and they feared the clan finding out. Once we discovered they’d murdered her, they were banished and I . . .” Now I had to look away. I could not meet Nancy’s eyes. “I left my clan, banishing myself. After finding this island, I built my home and resigned myself to living here alone forever.”

“And now my daughter and I are here, messing with your atonement.”

“Atonement?” An interesting way to look at it.

“It sounds to me like you and Weela fought your feelings. You fell in love, but sometimes, that can’t be avoided. She died, so I’d say you both paid the ultimate price. Do you feel you need to make amends for falling in love?”

”I do.”

“Did Nevarn say this, or did you tell this to yourself?”

“He forgave me.” I stared at my hands clasped in my lap. “I don’t deserve to be with others. I hurt my friend. I hurt Weela. If I’d stayed away from her, she’d still be alive.”

“If Nevarn forgave you, and you’re paying the price you set for yourself, why can’t you forgive yourself?”

“I’m the reason she was killed.”

“I can understand blaming yourself. I’d do the same thing.”

“I felt you needed to know this.”

She tapped the mark on my arm. “Is this the mating mark from Weela?”

I shook my head. “That faded after she died. This one appeared when I saw you.”

“Which means . . .” Her sigh rang out. “I can’t believe all this yet . . .” Her fingertip traced along the pattern on the back of her hand.

“I won’t try to claim you. ”

“That’s good, because I don’t want anyone to claim me. I had my chance at love like you, and it’s gone. I don’t need another.”

“The one you adored died like Weela?”

“No, um, he’s still alive.” She leaned back on the cushions. “Tell me why your water spirit brought me here.”

A change of subject, but I understood the pain of losing someone. Her mate might not have died, but I sensed they were no longer together before she was brought here. If she wanted me to know why, she’d tell me.

“Long ago,” I said, “ships much larger than the one you arrived in landed on this planet. Beings came out of the ship, and some sank into the ground, erupting back out in enormous crystal forms. Others flew through the air and landed on islands that float above the sea where they fused with the stone support system—”

“You mentioned floating islands. All islands float in the sea.”

“These hover in the sky, far above the sea.”

Her low laugh rang out, fading quickly. “That’s not possible.”

“Yet it’s true. I’ll show you sometime.”

“Where did the other gods go?”

“They scattered themselves in the sand of the vast deserts some distance from here,” I said. “Others merged with the trees.”

“This sounds like something from a sci-fi movie.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant, but I nodded. Any way she could translate what happened into something she understood would help her accept the life she’d find here on Zuldrux.

“My people lived in harmony with these people they called gods,” I said.

“Ah, the ones you call spirits,” she said. “I bet they’re aliens from a different world.”

“You’re the alien here.” I frowned. “And I guess you could say they are too, since they didn’t originally come from here. Most call them gods. But we didn’t live peacefully together forever. A disease swept across our world, killing many of those who’d come here, plus many Zuldruxians. The gods were blamed, and the people fled the lives they’d formed with them. Time passed, and my people started to die. Few younglings were born, and most were male.”

“This definitely sounds like a sci-fi movie.” She turned on the sofa to face me, hitching her leg up beneath her sweet bottom I ached to touch. At least her face appeared open, and she was willing to listen to me. “Go on.”

“Some Zuldruxians returned to the spirits and lived among them once more.”

She peered around. “And yours?”

“As I said, my spirit is that of water.” I could tell she didn’t understand, though she would. “My clan is small and contains only one person. Me.” My face heated. Would she scorn me for forming a new clan? I felt I should, that I needed to belong somewhere even if I wasn’t worthy of a life among others. “The Taikeen Clan. At the recent clan gathering, I offered others space on this island, and some Zuldruxians expressed interest. Life is different here, and some suggested it might be nice to help build a new clan into a thriving community. No one has ventured here so far, however.”

Maybe if some did, I could find a person to love. Weela would want that, just as I’d want it for her if I’d died.

Why, then, did I hesitate to accept the gift the water spirit gave me in Nancy?

“It’s a worthy goal,” she said. “How big is this island?”

“It takes two days to walk across it.”

“Wow. That’s miles long. And you live here all by yourself?”

“So far. After we rejoined the spirits, our lives improved due to what they offered, but our people are still dying. A few traedors, which means clan leaders, went to the central spirits who live on an island within a lake, to plead for intervention.”

“I sense this is where my daughter and I come in, though I’m eager to find out specifically how.”

“The traedors asked the island spirits to give them mates.”

Nancy’s shoulders sagged. “Spirits. Mates. Robocops stealing . . . my daughter and I from Earth. It doesn’t make sense.”

I nodded. “You’re not the first female from Earth to arrive here.”

“Wait. What? Where are they?” She stared around.

“Some wait in their pods while others have been gifted to Zuldruxians.”

“We’re not yours to be given away,” she pointed out quietly. “I doubt any of us were willing to be kidnapped and brought here to be dumped in some guy’s lap.”

“It’s true. None of the women were glad to be here—at first.”

“And now?”

“Three have mated with Zuldruxian males and they’re happy.”

“So you say.”

“They’ve told me this. I recently traveled to meet with others at the clan gathering, and human women arrived with their mates. They’re in love. Some are expecting younglings.”

“I won’t believe this unless I can see it.”

“I’ll take you to them soon, then, because I want you to know that it’s true. You’re safe here, both you and Flora. The gods brought you here for a purpose.”

She frowned at the mark on her hand. “To serve as your mate?”

“I’ve told you I would not claim you. I’m not worthy of another mate.”

Sadness flickered across her face. “I don’t want a mate either, so we’re even on that. Where does that leave me?”

“I . . .” I pinched my eyes shut. “I can take you to one of the bigger clans. Vanessa is mated to Aizor, the traedor of the Indigan Clan. It will take many days to journey across the land and through the forest, but I’ll take you there, and you can settle with them.”

And I’d return to my lonely existence here on this island, the only life I deserved.

“Alright.” Her brow furrowed, and she studied the mark on her hand. “If we go our separate ways, will the spirits remove the mark like they did after Weela was killed?”

“Perhaps. I don’t know what they’ll do.” Scorn me, most likely, and that was all I could accept. “Until we can leave the island, I’ll care for you and do my best to make sure you and Flora are happy. A storm is coming, and once it has passed, I’ll take you to the others. If you wish to remain with them rather than me, I’ll step away.” I suspected my heart would break once more, but how could I force this precious female to remain with me?

“Tell me more about this tattoo.” She traced her finger along the pattern and tiny lights flared beneath her skin once more.

Why would the gods do this to us? It wasn’t fair to Nancy, and it placed something unobtainable in front of me. I couldn’t claim her. I didn’t deserve to claim her.

“True matings are rare even among Zuldruxians,” I said.

“I sense a touch of permanency in your statement.”

If I truly believed in the will of the spirits, I’d know that we were destined to love for this lifetime and beyond. But that couldn’t be true.

I’d loved Weela, and she was murdered.

I couldn’t risk falling for Nancy and having something horrible happen to her as well.

I was doomed to love and lose.

Weela.

And I would bet anything that I’d lose Nancy as well.